Year 19 • No. 32 Friday, August 30, 2019 The aratoga Saratoga’s Daily Racing Newspaper since 2001 Scenic Saratoga Season enters final four days CRYSTALLE WINS P.G. JOHNSON DISCO PARTNER HEADS LUCKY COIN ENTRIES AND HANDICAPPING Tod Marks Tod 2 THE SARATOGA SPECIAL FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019 here&there...at Saratoga BY THE NUMBERS 5: Consecutive years with a start at Saratoga for Disco Partner, who starts in today’s Lucky Coin Stakes. The 7-year-old ran here Aug. 3 (second in the Troy Stakes) to add to his third in 2015, win in 2016, fourth in 2017 and third in 2018. 144: Winning favorites this year, through Thursday, for a percentage of 40.3. 8: Trainers in double digits for wins at the meet. 12: Jockeys in double digits for wins at the meet. 1: Horse to win three races at the meet (through Thursday). Racing for Three Diamonds Farm and trainer Mike Maker, Cross Border won a starter allowance July 19, an allowance Aug. 11 and an optional claimer Thursday. Fifteen horses have won two races at the meet. 14: Wins at the meet for leading owner Klaravich Stable. NAMES OF THE DAY Appointment, first race. Mosaic Stable’s homebred is by Freud. Get that on your calendar. Susie Raisher Drop A Hint, seventh race. Mathis Stable’s 2-year-old filly is out of Allude. Bedtime Story. Candygram catches up on his reading – he loves The Special – at the Jimmy Jerkens barn. Frosted is the leading first-crop yearling sire by average at $271,000. His $850k filly at Saratoga is the highest price for a first-crop sire this year. Only American Pharoah has had a higher priced first-crop yearling at Saratoga in the FIRSTED! past decade. Remember the future More yearlings selling soon. Darley FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019 THE SARATOGA SPECIAL 3 Matthew J. Nielsen Ed Kasperavich, CFA here&there...at Saratoga Deborah Stackpole Managing Directors WORTH REPEATING Sports & Entertainment Group [email protected] “Sometimes you have to get in your car and take a drive and figure it all out. I’ve never had to do that with him.” Trainer Shug McGaughey, about training horses and Travers winner Code Of Honor “I’m a huge fan of Elate’s. I’ve watched her for three years now and watched her train here and watched the races she’s run here. Nothing but respect for her. To see Midnight Bisou up to the Your investment task, to win the Personal Ensign, against Elate, at a mile-and-an-eighth, today, at Saratoga, that’s a lot of checkmarks on our list.” future starts Trainer Steve Asmussen, after Saturday’s Grade 1 here… Securities offered through Stonecrest Capital Markets, member FINRA/SIPC Advisory services offered through Stonecrest Advisors, Inc. “We went fishing Tuesday, we were still back in time to graze them in the afternoon.” Assistant trainer Robin Smullen, about a rare excursion from the barn QUOTE OF THE DAY “Thank you for recognizing my License Plate Of The Day, not once but twice this meet, TRA- VERS, New Jersey. I guess I can stop driving by the Special’s office three or four times a day “There aren’t many big towns out there. You’ve got a railroad track, next to the now that I’ve made the paper.” railroad track is a grain elevator and you might have a gas station and a drug store. Reader Tom Biondi If you’re going to follow the horses, you’re going to have to get out of there.” “As someone who once laid waxed strips of long column inches of news stories onto blue guide Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, about growing up in South Dakota lined pages and sometimes had to cut any typo-flawed words out of the set type and replace them with the properly spelled word using both ends of an X-acto knife (one end to cut, the other to tamp), I get it. I loved those days and nights and early mornings.” Michael Thomas, after reading Sean Clancy’s column about going from print to digital this week (Editor’s note: Sean used to call the waxer “the greaser” in the old days.) “And you thought Winston C was a freak.” Longtime reader Kent McKeever after watching 800-523-8143 Teodoro romp in a hurdle allowance Wednesday Defeated Look for 1ST Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile-G1, Eclipse Champions 1st Yearlings Godolphin Mile-G2, etc. GUN RUNNER This Year 2ND Forego S.-G1 RUNHAPPY & ACCELERATE World Class Miler By SPEIGHTSTOWN 1st GodolphinLook Mile-G2 for • 2nd Forego S.-G1 Kent Barnes, Stallion Manager (859) 224-4585 www.shadwellfarm.com 1st Yearlings This Year Editors/Publishers The aratoga Sean Clancy: (302) 545-7713. [email protected] Joe Clancy: (302) 545-4424. [email protected] Managing Editor Tom Law: (859) 396-9407. [email protected] 259 East Avenue Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 Writers: Catherine Galbraith, Ben Gowans, Paul Halloran, The Saratoga Special, thisishorseracing.com Terry Hill, Brandon Valvo. (the old feed store) Thoroughbred Racing Calendar, The Best of The Saratoga Special. Handicappers: Charles Bedard, John Shapazian, Rob Whitlock. thisishorseracing.com Call us about your editorial needs. Design: Todd Koch. Published Thursday through Sunday Home Office: 364 Fair Hill Drive, Suite F, Elkton, MD 21921 during the racing season. (410) 392-5867 • Fax (410) 392-0170 Photographers: Tod Marks, Dave Harmon, Connie Bush. Plus Monday, Aug. 5 and Tuesday, Aug. 6. Distribution & More: Madeline Ellsworth. 4 THE SARATOGA SPECIAL FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019 FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019 THE SARATOGA SPECIAL 5 here&there... WORTH REPEATING “I was wondering why it was so light.” The Special’s Terry Hill after realizing he left his laptop at the office “Late for church as I sit in my car reading, ‘I’ll miss.’ ” Longtime reader Mary Ryan “Was Lucky Coin a horse?” The Special’s Joe Clancy, laying out Friday’s preview to the stakes (he was, indeed, a horse; the Florida-bred son of Chas Conerly won seven races in 1997 – including a maiden special weight, an allowance at Saratoga and the Grade 2 Kelso at Belmont – for trainer Richard Nieminski) “Is today’s around?” The Special’s Todd Koch, looking for Thursday’s print edition in the office Friday afternoon (umm, online PDF only this week everybody) “Most people aren’t that old.” Former Saratoga innkeeper Don Nichols, after saying he and his wife Cindy have been married 62 years Connie Bush Beauty Rest. Julia the backstretch goat takes it easy as horses return from the track Thursday morning. Saratoga Moments . Country Life Farm Making Stallions Since 1933 “The Travers in 2006 with Bernardini because I used to gallop that horse. Fun horse, he was a lot of fun to ride, a good horse. I knew he was going to win.” – NYRA outrider Miguel Gutierrez ELLEN PONS ELLEN Stakes winner Missy Rules and her April 19, 2019 Maryland-bred colt by Tapit’s son Divining Rod. Find out more at countrylifefarm.com Josh Pons 443-807-0644 v Mike Pons 410-459-8517 Christy Holden 410-808-1325 v Bel Air, MD 21014 Headley Bell: 859-221-5108 • Price Bell: 859-321-5117 410-879-1952 v [email protected] v countrylifefarm.com 6 THE SARATOGA SPECIAL FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019 e Presented by TOP 10 Photo of performances of the meet the Day sponsoredsponsored bbyy OSCAR PERFORMANCE remembering randy At 2: Breeders’ Cup Pinhooking Juvenile Turf (G1) Partnerships Standing at Mill Ridge Farm Standing at Mill Ridge Farm 2-year-olds The Special keeps up with the meet’s in training sales best performances. Got Stormy: Even Fourstardave Yearling to 1. didn’t do what she did. – Bred by Mt. Joy Stables, Pope McLean, 2-year-old prep Marc McLean & Pope McLean Jr. Midnight Bisou: Now that’s a (859) 312-3414 2. proper horse race. Elate is 2B. kirkwoodstables.com Code Of Honor: Answered any 3. doubts in Travers triumph. Tod Marks Covfefe: Because that Test slug- www.thoroughbredaftercare.org 4. fest was as good as it gets. Imperial Hint: Move over Spei- 5. ghtstown and Spanish Riddle. The Chief . Day 31 McKinzie: He can do it all, giving 6. Baffert his first Whitney win. “We called him Whitey. He was only a bronc, they timed him one day, an eighth, in 13. We’d call it blowing them out with the pony, he’d go an eighth of a mile quick. I couldn’t believe when they said he went an eighth Shancelot: After the Amsterdam, in 13. He caught a girl running off, I was on him, two guys missed her and I grabbed 7. make that Sir Shancelot. her. Years later she saw me in a restaurant, she said, ‘Do you recognize me? You saved Guarana: Unbeaten filly was my life.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ She said, ‘You remember when I was perfect again in CCA Oaks. 8. getting run off and everybody missed me, but you.’ The reason I didn’t miss her Sistercharlie: Make that TWO was on account of Whitey, when I went to reach for the 9. Dianas for the champ. bridle, the horse accelerated but so did Whitey, most ponies won’t do it on their own, if he didn’t Dunbar Road: Loved the mud 10. in Alabama romp. accelerate, I wouldn’t have got her.” And the – Trainer Allen Jerkens, 1929-2015 Oscar goes to... The breeder of the horse with the Top Performance of 2019 receives a FREE 2020 breeding season to Oscar Performance.